SEATTLE –Photographer Tim Durkan is best known for his iconic shots of the Space Needle in dense fog, ferry boats on Elliott Bay.

But in his new series, tentatively titled “Emerald Stories,” Durkan turns his lens to a different Seattle. One filled with overdoses, infections, life literally lived in the gutter. A Seattle that most wish didn’t exist, and many pretend doesn’t.

“All the pictures you like to see,” Durkan explains. “The ferryboats, the unicorns, the Space Needle. The fact is, just underneath those photos, just next to them are the real streets. And I hope these photos shake people long enough, get them thinking. Because Seattle is not all about the rainbows and the sunsets and the veneer.”

Durkan’s passion and compassion for Seattle has turned his lens from the “pretty” iconic shots and Seattlecana to the “gritty” of the streets. In [pullquote align=”right”]”If you have to look longer than…